Debbie Abrahams turns the tables in Labour bullying brouhaha

Abrahams has been forced out of the shadow cabinet over accusations that she bullied her staff.

A number of Labour MPs have been struggling to believe that Debbie Abrahams could be guilty of bullying.

They include Barry Sheerman, who tweeted: "Shock & disbelief over statement by Debbie Abrahams & her suspension from our front bench!"

And Kate Green, who stated: "Debbie is my friend. But were she not, it still can't be right that she's not apparently even been told details of complaint against her."

And Abrahams herself, who put out an extraordinary statement after she was forced step aside as shadow work and pensions secretary:

"I refute the allegations that have been made against me in the strongest possible terms. I will fight this spurious claim and do not rule out taking legal action. I have had no details about the complaint, who it is from, the process or timescales.

"I have not agreed to stand aside. My treatment by certain individuals in the leader’s office over the last 10 months has been aggressive, intimidating and wholly unprofessional. My treatment in the last week has shown a bullying culture of the worst kind. As such I am making a formal complaint to both the Labour Party and parliamentary authorities."

According to Labour insiders the complaint against Abrahams relates to her relations with another Labour staffer. None of the details have yet been made public, but allies are claiming that Abrahams is being targeted because of a number of disputes with Corbyn’s team over the past year, during which the Labour MP stood up to the leadership.

Abrahams has been replaced as shadow work and pensions secretary by junior Labour frontbencher Margaret Greenwood. But many Labour insiders believe it is only a matter of time before rising Corbynite star Laura Pidcock gets the gig…